You Must Be Magic
by Silverium
Summary: Miki is tired of blushing every time she sees Nikki, but she can't help it! What she doesn't know, is that Nikki's noticed, and is about to take matters into his own hands.
1. Default Chapter

~*~ My first attempt at what one might call fan-fiction. Hopefully it will be good enough for a second attempt, or even just a second chapter. We'll see. Reviews are nice, I think, being that this is my first stab at something I suppose I wouldn't know. Nikki/Miki pairing. ~*~  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Chrono Cross, or anything inside it, but if Squaresoft would like, they could drop the rights to it and slip it into my Christmas stocking and I'd be the happiest girl in the world. Both the Home world and Another ^_~  
  
~*~ 'You Must Be Magic' ~*~ By: Carrot-Chan ~*~  
  
The night air was calming, blowing the soft orange strands of hair away from her face and carrying them off on the breeze. Glazed-over cerulean eyes stared off into the dark ocean, almost wishing that she could melt into those elusive obsidian waves, Miki turned away from the railing and rested her back upon it. The smooth wooden railing wasn't offering as much comfort as she wanted, but it would have to do. She stood at the back of the café aboard the Invincible. Silently, Miki wished it were still the Zelbess, she had found the romantic name much more to her liking.  
"Anything for you Miss?"  
Miki looked up and politely shook her head to the demi-human who had skirted past her with a soft smile. She trailed away from her balcony and escaped from the crowded dimly lit room. The halls were silent except for a few cats that amiably walked around and coiled around her legs, purring with contentment. Miki knelt to scratch them behind their ears as she trickled to the top deck on the Invincible.  
The air was colder up here, but not by much and Miki enjoyed the feeling of the wind's fingers lacing through her fiery locks and taking the warmth away from her hot skin. Grasping the metal rungs to the main mast which could take her back to Nikki's ship, Miki hoisted herself up arm over arm, thankful for her dancer's strength.  
At the top she settled in on the platform and let it glide back to the familiar green hulking boat she spent so much time on. The white 'Magical Dreamers' sign on the side felt familiar and warm to her as she passed it. Sliding to a stop she hopped off with a twirl and quickly struck a pose. Tidbits of her dancing routine always made guest appearances when she walked around.  
Inside her dressing room Miki waved a 'hello' to Yu and Mi before looking at her face in the mirror. Her makeup was vibrant and perfectly applied, just the way she wanted it to be after the long hours it took to apply everything.  
"I'm going to go to sleep, see you two in the morning!" Miki said with a smile at her two back-up dancers,  
"Night!" They replied in unison.  
Mike stepped back outside and at once had her attention captured by the luminous moon that hung suspended in the sky amid a scattering of stars. She smiled softly at the brilliant celestial display and walked over to the railing to get a closer look.  
"Seems railings are all the company I've had for awhile." She said sadly, looking at the burnished surface of her latest friend.  
Miki turned around and discovered she wasn't alone. Her breath caught in her throat as she looked up to the second floor where the object of her affection was standing, also gazing at the moon in all her glory. Miki licked her lips, deciding that Nikki hadn't seen her.  
His face was bathed in the moon's rays, a pallid glow that made his eyes stand out more, the deep amethyst that Miki lost herself in immediately. He looked forlorn up there, leaning over with his elbow propped on the railing, chin placed in palm and a soft gaze traveling to the heavens. Not knowing what to do, but being too nervous to approach him, Miki turned around and looked out at the ocean herself. A shimmer of silver had polished the dark waves, making them reflect the starlight back up at the sky and tinge the thick clouds with a grainy glow. It was ethereal out there.  
  
Nikki turned his eyes away from the scene in front of him. Those passionate stars shedding all their light, it was too delicate for him to lay eyes on for long. His gaze fell to the figure below him, seemingly also entranced with the sky above. Suppressing a small smile, Nikki studied his partner in soulful songs appreciatively. You wouldn't think it, but the fiery dancer was actually shy, and it had always amused him how she blushed pink when he looked at her or spoke to her. It had been years since they had first started together but he had always detached himself from the stage help and dancer, something Nikki had regretted more than once. Miki was beautiful, but as a loner Nikki didn't feel right in asking her for even the slightest outing together.  
Still, watching her from his balcony Nikki felt a wistful tinge in his soul. She had always said her performances were designed to make people feel.but she never imagined what it did to him. Half of his songs were inspired by the swift movements she carried out in the practices with Yu and Mi at her side. Nikki's eyes grew soft and he turned around, enough punishing himself for one night.  
  
Miki realized she had been staring out to sea for quite some time. She pivoted slowly and nervously looked up, feeling her heart clench as she saw Nikki was absent from the upper deck.  
Disappearing inside Nikki threw herself on her bed and hugged her pillow mournfully,  
"Damnit girl, just talk to him!" She growled,  
"Talk to who?"  
"What do you mean?"  
Miki sat bolt-upright and then relaxed, "Mi, Yu, I thought you two were asleep."  
"Nope." The girls chorused,  
"So what's on your mind?" Yu asked,  
"N-nothing!" Miki gasped, ducking back down into her covers, "I'm tired, half asleep you know?"  
"Yeah sure," Mi winked at her, "Sleep tight Miki." 


	2. The Practice

~*~ Chapter Two! I try to sound as optimistic as possible, in hopes that you might leave me a review. Even if it's just to state that you read this. Two things I haven't figured out yet, how to make italics, and how to get three periods in a row without them disappearing. ~*~  
  
Disclaimer: I want to own Nikki, and even Miki cause she's "rockin'" but you know what? I don't. I couldn't even if I had all the money in the world.  
  
~*~ You Must Be Magic ~*~ By: Carrot-Chan ~*~  
  
Miki woke to the faint sounds of a guitar. Sitting up and yawning she rolled off her bed and then joined Yu and Mi at the mirror where makeup littered the surface from one end to the other.  
  
"Practice!" Yu carolled happily,  
  
"Mm, pass me the eye shadow Yu!"  
  
"Has anyone seen my other legging?"  
  
"The red one with the black diamonds? Um, check over there Miki."  
  
"Oh! Thanks Mi." Miki located the discarded legging and pulled it up her long leg, making her it was on straight with the diamonds on the sides,  
  
Yu threw her golden ring that rested at the top of Miki's legging and Miki caught it, smiling at her backup dancer, "What would I do without you two?"  
  
"Dance alone I guess," Yu laughed,  
  
"Pretty lonely out there." Mi added with a smile.  
  
"It would be." Miki agreed  
  
When she was dressed in her normal flaming red attire, Miki hopped up on a chair and let Yu style her hair. Miki could have easily done it herself, but Yu loved to play with the volcanic orange locks. When she was done, Yu drifted to finish her makeup, letting Miki draw the purple star under her left eye as usual.  
  
She looked down at the purple tube in her hand. Two shades darker and it would be the same purple Nikki used to highlight his eyes. Speaking of the devil, the guitarist walked in looking around wildly before letting his eyes fall on the trio of dancers,  
  
"Has anyone seen my black lipstick?" He asked, looking adorably worried,  
  
"Oh yeah, Yu borrowed it." Mi winked, "There it is, over by Miki."  
  
Miki looked down at the assortment of tubes and powders by her. She found the black and picked it up with a shaking hand, "H-here."  
  
She tossed it over to him, and watched as he caught it and smiled at her. Miki smiled back but she knew her lips were trembling. Nikki turned around and threw a back-handed wave at them,  
  
"Practice in half an hour?" he called,  
  
"Sure." The trio responded happily.  
  
When Nikki left, Miki heaved a sigh of relief. She missed the looks crossed between Mi and Yu as she continued darkening her eyeliner. Yu cleared her throat lightly and grinned at Mi,  
  
"So, Nikki's been scheduling more practices since that Marbule performance, eh?" she asked lightly,  
  
"Yeah he has, what do you think of that Miki?" Mi carried on,  
  
"He's happier now that the demi-humans and humans are getting along, and I think he's feeling better now that he has a family to relate to, somewhat." Miki said automatically,  
  
"Wow, someone's thought that over." Yu grinned like a clown,  
  
Miki flushed, "No! It's just, I, ah, after the concert I was thinking, that's all."  
  
"All right." Yu and Mi said in unison, "Well, we don't want to be late."  
  
Dressing in their blue and green outfits they slipped out of the room leaving an embarrassed Miki to finish up her face and then scamper out after them.  
  
Nikki looked around at the dark stage. They hadn't come up with a new routine yet; first they were simply looking to match up rhythms with movements. He tuned his guitar idly and recalled the earlier moments. Miki looking around her with that same little flush to her cheeks. Her hand, quivering, picking up the black lipstick and throwing it to him with an ever-shaky smile. Nikki wanted to go and give the adorable woman a hug just because her actions were so cute . He didn't have much time to ponder of that before Yu and Mi had come in, with a breathless Miki behind them. The girls began to stretch and twirl in place, warming up their muscles while Nikki trailed up the musical scales. Adding the harmonics and melodics to his arpeggios.  
  
"All right. Yu, Mi, I think if we did sort of a triangle fashion, with split-twists and switchovers every time Nikki plays that one chord-"  
  
Nikki demonstrated.  
  
"-then we at least have one thing for repetition. Like a chorus for the dance." Miki said, frowning in concentration,  
  
"What if we did this as well?" Yu performed an acrobatic flip with her sister and fell lightly to her feet, "If you back-flipped we could launch you up higher."  
  
"That's a great idea!" Miki said enthusiastically,  
  
Nikki smiled softly to himself. She was a different person in the practices. Bold and daring with quick wit and charm, Miki let the dance take over her easily. He watched as they practiced this manoeuvre several times.  
  
"That could be at the peak of the song." Miki nodded, "What do you think Nikki?"  
  
Nikki sauntered over and nodded, raking a hand through his hair, "I like it, now we need the lead ups to those movements."  
  
"Yeah." Miki sounded pleased that he liked her work,  
  
Turning back she began to instruct more movements for her two back-up dancers. These positions would be made while her and Nikki acted out something in front of them  
  
"All right, the song holds reference to the sea, so we should have a rolling motion like the waves, an ebb and flow type thing. Let's see. We have the lost fisherman, and the enchantress," here Miki swept a dainty curtsey, "we should get a boat for you to perform on."  
  
Nikki nodded, "And I was thinking of a pinnacle of rock with a spiral staircase built in for you to be on."  
  
"Right on!" Miki crowed, adoring every word of it.  
  
After their practice they had created half of the dance and sorted most of it to various parts of Nikki's song. The dancers took turns having showers to relieve themselves of the sheen of sweat that bathed their limbs. Afterwards they went to the Invincible to take a needed break in the café. Miki grabbed a table for Mi, Yu and her, and the three split an ice cream sundae.  
  
"Yummm!" Mi giggled,  
  
"It can't be good for us to eat this, it's like the forbidden treat." Yu agreed, "Ah, all the dancing, I'm sure we worked off a lot of weight that we actually need. Besides, we have mighty fine metabolisms." Miki winked,  
  
"You know too much." Mi laughed, "Cheers everyone for that awesome practice."  
  
"Cheers!" Yu and Miki sang,  
  
They dug in, fighting over the cherry on top (Mi won with a spoonful of ice cream to Yu's face). Miki watched the open doorway to the café and was startled to see a determined Nikki walk past. He didn't usually leave the Magical Dreamer's boat. Pretending she had seen nothing, Miki waited until they had finished and gave the lame excuse that she wanted to explore the boat. A hasty retreat later and she was practically running to catch up with Nikki. As she neared the end of the boat she could hear him and Fargo in the Captain's quarters. Pursing her lips and knowing full well that she wouldn't be able to go in there, Miki settled with the roulette underneath their room . "Oo ee! Look at who comes in!" Miki ignored the catcalls and looked at the man behind the wheel, "Spin me something."  
  
She ended with 400 points. Tactfully deciding to stop there she left the room and listened quietly to see if Nikki was still with his father. She figured he wasn't due to the silence in the room above her.  
  
Biting her lip she walked almost dejectedly back to her ship where her two dancers were once again at the mirror. Miki didn't go into the room, she stayed outside letting the sun glint down on her, sending her hair into a fiery frenzy of light.  
  
"Why did he go there." She whispered, "He always ends up arguing with Fargo."  
  
She rested her arms over the railing and placed her chin in the middle, leaning over in an almost 90-degree angle. She could hear the angry sounds of a guitar spewing out rapid notes from Nikki's cabin. Wondering if she should go up and see him Miki was further startled by the platform connecting the two ships being whisked away, only to return with Serge. 


	3. Conclusion I have lame chapter titles

~*~ Whee. Chapter Three's here. The conclusion to my little fic. Please leave me a review, I'll worship you, and bake you cookies. ~*~

Disclaimer: If I owned Chrono Cross I wouldn't be here, I'd be celebrating my riches and making real games with the storylines I constructed. 

~*~

You Must Be Magic

~*~

By: Carrot-Chan

~*~

"Hey Serge." Miki greeted warmly, having taken a liking to him immediately, "How's it going?"

"Good," He replied softly, "Is Nikki around?"

"Yeah, upstairs, I'll come with you…Nikki has a bodyguard that won't let in anyone." Miki smiled,

They trooped up the stairs and paused at the top where the bodyguard was being besieged by fangirls. Miki sighed almost sadly and kept going, pushing her way through them.

"I'd just die if he held me…"

"I've seen every one of his concerts!"

"I got an autograph!"

"Did you know that his favourite fruit is a kiwi?"

"Oh…yeah?" Serge looked bewildered which cheered Miki up,

"Hey, we're here to see Nikki, official business." Miki said to the bodyguard who grudgingly let her in.

Nikki was standing by his mirror with his guitar in hand, slamming the chords out and looking more than a little distracted. He looked up in surprise and then beamed,

"Serge!" He waved,

Serge nodded with a small smile, "Nikki, I was wondering if you'd like to help me,"

"What kind of help?" Nikki asked, his eyes flicking to Miki who was hiding in the background,

Now Serge blushed and he fidgeted, "Well…I ah, know you have a lot of fangirls…so you…ah, must've dated a lot of girls…and ah…There'sagirlIlikeandit'sherbirthdaycomingup."

"What?" Nikki asked a smile toying at his dark lips,

"There's-a-girl-I-like-and-it's-her-birthday-coming-up!" Serge managed in a small voice, eyes glued to the massive carpet with its giant 'N' scrawled across.

Nikki laughed, one of his rare real laughs that Miki had so often ached to hear. She bit her lip again and forced herself to look at Serge and not Nikki.

"So you want one of my ideas?" he asked

"I…ah…I want you to play a song for her…a concert or s-something." Serge was turning red,

"We could perform the new song with the dance, like a pre-show trial run-through!" Miki burst out, her eyes wide and her face soon matching Serge's

Nikki stared at her for a moment before a smile graced his face, "Rockin'!" he cried as Serge threw her a grateful grin.

Miki felt like she won the Termina lottery. 

They practiced a lot more than usual after that. Miki felt her week had blazed past in a daze and the night before their trial concert it was all sliding to an end, allowing her to collect her thoughts. Balanced on top of the railing with her legs swinging over the edge and feeling at home aboard their ship, she discovered that in all that time while they were practicing she hadn't been nervous of Nikki at all.

       "Only when I'm alone." She sighed,

       "What happens when you're alone?"

       Miki shrieked in surprise and nearly plummeted into the water. In fact she jerked forward so violently that it was only the two steadying arms that wrapped around her waist quickly that kept her on the rail.

       "Y-you scared me!" Miki felt every muscle in her body tense up,

       "I'm still scaring you." Nikki observed,

       He didn't dare take his arms away, with her limbs frozen like this she could fall into the water and sink to the bottom without moving. Not to mention this was a position he had wanted to be in for ages but, really, not the time,

       "No y-you're n-not." Miki stuttered with a bright red face,

       Nikki leaned over her shoulder, his red and black hair tickling her chin, "Then why are you stuttering, face all a flush, and completely locked up?" he whispered,

       "Er…" Miki shut her eyes, silently willing herself to say something intelligent, "You...ah…I thought I was going to fall."

       "Right." Nikki hugged her tighter, now more fondly, "I couldn't let my lead dancer fall to her death, now could I? Come off the ledge Miki, you're scaring me."

       He let go of her and backed away, but only enough for her to get off the railing and turn around sheepishly. Nikki suddenly sighed, a look of sympathy crossing his face,

       "Miki, we've been practicing and touring with each other for years. Come on, drop the shy act." Nikki almost begged,

       Swallowing hard and pressing her back against the railing Miki's brows drew together, "Act? You think this is an _act_?!"

       Her incredulous tone made Nikki wince, he had made her angry, quite the opposite of what he had intended to do. Miki's cheeks heated and her eyes grew icy. Folding her arms over her chest and scowling at him she tossed her hair over her shoulder and glared,

       "Is this fun for you Nikki? I don't mean to grow scarlet every time I see you! It's embarrassing and —"

       "Miki!"

       Miki stopped at his plea and was surprised to see him looking absolutely crestfallen. She drew in a deep breath but didn't lower her stance for a second,

       "What?"

       "I'm sorry, I had no idea, ah, you wanna talk about it?" Nikki asked hesitantly, "I—we could go up to my room, it's private."

       Miki was glad she was off the railing, otherwise she surely would have fallen in. Biting her lip she followed him with her heart fluttering. He noticed her anxiety and stopped, halfway up the stairs,

       "You don't have to…"

       "No!" Miki cried instantly,

       Nikki smiled and then lead her up into the suite where he dropped on to his couch and looked at her expectantly. Miki found herself twirling a lock of hair around her finger nervously as she sat opposite him on the couch.

       "I'm really sorry Miki." Nikki said immediately,

       "No, no, it's my fault Nikki, after all this time I shouldn't be so shy!" Miki gushed out,

       The rock star nodded and then lowered his head as he smiled, making his red and black hair swish in front of his eyes, "You're right, there's no need to be shy. But, you're not always.

       "During our practices you're a different person, Miki, your face is always glowing with happiness, you crack jokes, throw orders about, you're intense as ever and you're, well, happy. Around me you clam up, block out everything, escape by the nearest exit…if I've done something to offend you."

       Nikki trailed off and stared at her levelly, waiting for her answer that could either make or break his heart. Any other girl he would have charmed up and gone for whatever he could, but not Miki. Miki was special, she would always be near him and so he was compelled to make sure he didn't ruin the bond they shared.

       "You've never hurt me in any way." Miki said softly

       "But…?" Nikki asked, feeling an inner wince come along,

       Miki shifted on the couch, one leg underneath her and the other bent over the side of the cushion. One arm across the armrest, and the other was over the back of the couch playing with the same lock of hair, she looked relaxed, yet wanting to flee. Appearing troubled and flicking various places of the room, Miki's eyes finally rested on Nikki's amethyst orbs. 

       "The truth is, um," Miki turned red again,

       "Miki, you're blushing." Nikki sighed sadly, "Am I really that bad?"

       "No!" Miki sat bolt upright, shocking Nikki against the back of the couch in alarm

       "Nikki, you're perfect! You're brilliant with your music but so sad and you always disengage yourself from the rest of us so we never know what you're thinking, I mean the only insight we have to you is from your songs!" Miki blew this all out in a rush

       Nikki was staring at her with a peculiar look in his eyes, "But…Miki, I'm just a…a parentless…I mean…my music…"

       The Dancer hissed at him, "You're not parentless, you have Fargo, and—"

Miki caught the pained look that flashed across his eyes, "Nikki?"

       "We had another fight." Nikki whispered, "He doesn't want anything to do with Irenes, which is a problem because, well, obviously."

       He rolled his eyes but it didn't conceal another look of pain. Miki felt her sympathy go out to him instantly. She crawled over to him and found herself embracing him before her actions had clearly registered in her mind. Nikki seemed just as surprised as she was but soon his arms wrapped around her as well. 

       "I'm sorry Nikki, if there's anything I can do, you know I will." Miki said truthfully,

       "You're everything I need right now." Nikki whispered,

       Miki looked up in surprise but her eyes caught little to nothing of Nikki's expression because she soon felt his lips pressing against hers and instinctively her eyelids fluttered closed. Her mind drew a complete blank as she melted in Nikki's strong arms and when they broke away she found herself speechless.  Nikki was gazing down gently into her cerulean eyes softly and he had a glowing smile on his face. Miki summoned up her courage to lean up and kiss him again to which he obliged her tenderly. Miki felt her face slowly return to its normal shade and she snuggled against Nikki's chest.

       "I can't help but notice that it only took two of my kisses to keep the blush off your face, Miki." Nikki whispered, sounding pleased with himself,

       "What can I say? You must be magic, Nikki." Miki looked up and winked, as fiery as ever.


	4. After note

~*~ You Must Be Magic ~*~

~Silverium

Ahem. So I received a review today from Cat, so I thought I'd address it. I'm not at my home computer so I figured I just do it right here.

First off, thanks for drawing my attention to that mistake, how embarrassing! This was my first fic so I think I can throw that out as an excuse (okay, not really, but can I get points for trying?)

Second, chapter three was my designated conclusion, so this will not be continued. I wrote another Nikki/Miki again, with a plot (See? I like plots too!) Different style ending and slightly more lime. I know some people don't like reading that stuff so I try and make my fics good for everyone. Plus, when I write lemon my face goes red. *** **laughs** * **

So if you like you can read that one. I write on demand, so if people want more they have to tell me. I'm a university student, time is not on my side anymore, and neither are my arms which have been struck with tendonitis and carpal tunnel (yeah, I'm _real_ healthy, heh) BUT I do adore writing. I'm thinking of writing a Weiß Kreuz fic in the future, or some yaoi for good measure, but I'd be happy to write another Nikki/Miki or some other pairing. Please note that in Chrono Cross, I missed Glenn, so don't ask me to write with him, I feel sad because I didn't get him. And I refuse to do Kidd and Serge because EVERYONE writes for that pairing. Tis dull. 

That's about it. Thank you ALL for the reviews, I replied to all the signed ones and so I'd like to personally thank the anons I received. Next time leave a name! I need feedback to continue writing. Once again, many thanks, email me, or review me if you would like me to write more. Cheerio. 


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